Flipped
Dear Abby Sunday, May 1, 2006 By Denise Goy I need your advice. I’m in the 8th grade and have had a major crush on Bryce since we were in the 2nd grade. I was seven when Bryce moved across the street from my house. I ran to meet him while he and his dad were unloading the U-haul. I kind of took over and tried to help, but that just scared Bryce away. His dad finally told him to go into the house and help his mother. I followed him to the door, grabbed his arm and held his hand as his mother opened the door. Bryce was so embarrassed. Every time I see Bryce my heart jumps up and down. He has the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. Once in a while Bryce will say hi to me, but for the most part he doesn’t seem to notice me. When we were in the 5th grade, our teacher wanted me to hatch eggs for my science project. My dad helped me make an incubator for the eggs and taught me how to take care of them. I was very surprised when all six chickens hatched just in time for the science fair. My chickens produced more eggs than my family could keep up with. I started selling them to two older women in my neighborhood. I also took a dozen eggs to Bryce’s house about every two weeks. After doing this for two and a half years, I caught Bryce throwing my eggs in the trash. His lousy excuse was that his family was afraid they’d get salmonella poisoning because my backyard is covered in chicken poop. He also made it clear that my family should clean up our front yard because it was a disgrace to the neighborhood. I ran home in tears. I asked my parents why we don’t keep our lawn clean especially since the inside of the house is spotless. I found out we are renting our house not buying and the landlord won’t take care of it. My father also told me he has to pay for the mentally retarded home that his brother, David, lives in and that is why we can’t afford fix up our yard. I decided to attack the yard by myself. While I was pulling weeds, Bryce’s grandfather, Chet, came to help me. As we worked we talked about ourselves. He said I remind him of his wife who died. I noticed Bryce looking out his window while we worked, and I wish he would come out. I know he has been mean to me, but I really like him. What should I do? Julianna Dear Julianna May 3, 2006 I think you might want to ignore Bryce for a while. Boys have a tendency to be afraid of girls. Sometimes we want something so bad that it does not matter if they hurt us. Relationships are two sided. When I was your age, I liked a boy too. He didn’t want anything to do with me. I was crushed. I had to let him go. You deserve to have a happy relationship. Abby Dear Abby May 5, 2006 I decided to take your advice. I started avoiding Bryce at all costs. I acted as if he didn’t exist; I totally ignored him. The funniest thing happened. Bryce started acting strange. He tried to apologize to me but I just brushed him off. At a school function, Bryce tried to kiss me. I was so embarrassed that I became very angry at him. I stayed inside my house so that he wouldn’t see me. Now, I’m the one avoiding him. I think I’ve Flipped. Today, Bryce brought over a tree to plant in my yard. I think this is his way of trying to let me know how truly sorry he is. I think I might get to know the real Bryce. I suppose only time will tell. Julianna Dear Julianna May 7, 2006 I’m glad you took my advice. People seem to always want what they don’t have. Keep up the good work. Your absolutely right that time will tell if you will really get to know Bryce. Good luck! Abby Authors Note: The minute I started reading this book, I knew I had to write a Dear Abby letter. Julianna reminded me of myself. She set her mind on something and she met her goal. There isn’t anything that Julianna couldn’t do. This was one of the cutest stories I’ve ever read.